Broken Souls
by xwrite4life
Summary: "Perfection is dead," she articulated into the mirror. Her eyes glared into the girl who stared back with the same intensity. For once, the pane showed who she truly was: a broken soul with falling pieces turning to dust the moment they touch ground. "I'm not his perfect little girl anymore." OC
1. Chapter 1

**Broken Souls  
** _A Naruto Story_

 **Summary:** After being saved from years in seclusion, Tomiko struggles to figure out who she truly is. Follow this young girl on her journey of self-discovery and redemption until she can finally look at herself in the mirror and say "I am not broken."  
 **Genre:** Drama, Family, Friendship, Slow Burn Romance  
 **Warnings:** Spoilers, Mental Illness, Strong Language, Adult themes

* * *

Chapter 1

Kakashi hated Obito Uchiha.

Okay, "hate" was a really strong word. Greatly annoyed just by sensing Obito's presence several meters away was probably more accurate. "Hate" was just easier to say, and Kakashi doesn't waste effort on unnecessary syllables.

One of the many reasons Kakashi doesn't like Obito was his attendance. If the Uchiha were on time, Sensei would have already explained the mission and the team would be on their way. Punctuality was one of the most important roles of being a ninja, so in Kakashi's eyes, Obito Uchiha was not a true ninja. Kakashi wasn't even sure how the goggled teammate made chuunin recently.

Kakashi observed the field were most of his team was gathered. Spring arrived, letting the sun's warmth touch his skin but the breeze was still cool, keeping the air at the most perfect temperature.

Rin Nohara was sitting in the still slightly damp grass nearby reorganizing her pack… for the third time. She liked being productive, just like himself, though she tended to over prepare if given the time to do so. Their sensei, Minato Namikaze, was leaning up against a tree, deep in thought.

Kakashi slipped out a kunai from his pouch and threw it at an unattended tree. He was so bored.

"Hey! Sorry I'm late!" Finally Obito showed up. Kakashi saw Obito running towards the group with his pack bouncing on his back. "There was-"

"What are the details of the mission, Sensei?" Kakashi interrupted the Uchiha rudely, and pulled his kunai out of the tree. He sensed the glares but ignored them to give full focus on his sensei.

Minato made an effort to greet Obito before he turned serious and explained the mission, "There is a gambling ring near the border of the Land of Hot Water. Our intel states Bunta Shimura is the one behind the organization. Our job is to apprehend Bunta and disband the ring."

"Sounds easy enough," Obito commented. "Piece of cake!"

"Don't go letting your guard down already," the blond jounin stated, sounding amused by Obito's optimism. Kakashi rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "This is a B-ranked mission. It won't be as easy as you may think."

"How dangerous can it be, Sensei?" Rin asked, sounding doubtful on the mission rank. She must be thinking about the gambling card games with fat drunkards, Kakashi figured. Fat drunkards were probably still involved, but they were most definitely not playing cards if Kakashi and his team were assigned the mission.

"This kind of gambling is different than what you're familiar with," Minato answered, looking more solemn than he had a moment prior. "Bunta and his men are kidnapping young boys to fight one another. Mostly farmers' kids since they can't put up much of a fight against trained shinobi."

Rin and Obito gasped, but Kakashi stayed indifferent. Another important role of a ninja: one must not show emotions and let them get in the way of the mission.

"Now, if there are no more questions, let's head out. We'll come up with a battle strategy once we're closer and do some recon. I hope to get there by nightfall."

"Right!" the trio confirmed.

The sensei nodded his head and disappeared. Kakashi and his teammates followed suit.

 **.: - :.**

The young girl stayed silent as she followed her papa through the halls of the building. She held her hands together in front of her which were covered by oversized sleeves of her silk kimono and her eyes were trained on the wooden floorboards on the ground. Her peripheral just barely saw the movement of her papa's and his assistant's feet in front of her.

"Look. It's that girl again," she heard a voice whisper as she walked by.

"What makes her so special?" a second voice inquired.

"I don't know. She's not even that pretty."

The young girl did her best to keep her hands down instead of instinctively forcing her red hair down to hide her face. Sara-san spent a lot of time putting pretty braids in her hair and pulling it up into this extravagant updo. The girl didn't want to ruin it, and she didn't want her papa to be upset.

 _They're lying_ , the girl tried to tell herself. _You are pretty. Papa and Sara-san say so._

The girl didn't understand why she was always singled out by the servant girls or why they always sound so jealous. Was it because of the makeup the girl had on? Was it the designer kimono she was wearing? Maybe it was the jewelry her papa imported especially for her? These reasons are beyond the girl's control. They were not her fault, but the servant girls didn't see it that way, she guessed.

"What's her name again?"

"Tomiko, wasn't it?"

Tomiko, the girl, clenched her fists under her sleeves. She liked the pretty clothes and jewelry, but what she hated most was the attention that came with it. Seven years was how long Tomiko lived this lifestyle and now being eleven years old, she couldn't recall living any other way. Only vague memories of a past she sometimes believed she created from her own imagination.

"Tomiko, my dear. Keep your head up," her papa said. The girl looked up and made eye contact with the man. His gold eyes twinkled with delight when she looked at him, just like the jewelry he bought for her. He leaned forward and gently raised her chin with a finger. Tomiko tensed at the touch. "That's a good girl. Having good posture is an important trait for a growing young lady."

"My apologies, Papa," Tomiko responded, adjusting the way she was standing. "I'll do better."

She was so focused on her thoughts she didn't realize she followed her papa to a very familiar door. A door she was never allowed to enter. Her eyes traveled from the door to her papa who was alone now, his assistant gone from his side.

"I know what you're thinking, but we're allowed to break the rules sometimes," her papa commented and opened the door. Like the gentleman he said he was, he allowed Tomiko to enter first. Tomiko was hesitant at first but she stepped inside slowly.

The first thing Tomiko noticed was the massive, hand-carved desk placed right in the middle of the room. She wondered how her papa was able to get the desk through the door with how large and heavy it appeared to be. Next was the overwhelming smell of burning tobacco invaded her senses. The room was a little clouded from the smoke which started to burn her eyes. There was a beautiful armchair sitting high behind the desk and in front was two smaller leather chairs. Tomiko didn't feel anymore comfortable to see one of the chairs was occupied and the person sitting in it was holding a lit cigar.

Ungracefully, Tomiko covered her nose from the stench and let out a few dry coughs.

"Put that out," her papa scolded, smacking the back of the other man's head. "It bothers Tomiko. And open a window."

The man glared at the girl and begrudgingly put the cigar out. Tomiko looked away from the man's dark gaze and brought her arms close to her body. His eyes then panned to a figure standing beside him.

"You heard him, boy. Open the goddamn window." The man's voice was much more gruff and deeper than her papa's. The boy he was talking to didn't give any confirmation but moved to the window and threw it open. When the boy turned around, he made looked right at Tomiko, causing her to gasp.

The boy was older than she was, probably by a few years, but what startled her most was the condition he was in. Tomiko held her breath as she took in his bloodshot, blackened eyes decorated with purple bruising that stretched passed his cheek bones. He held a dirty rag to his left eyebrow and Tomiko was able to see some dried blood scattered on his face which continued to trailed down his shirt.

Tomiko heart stopped just at the mere sight of him.

"Tomiko, dear. Could you do me a favor?" The girl's green eyes darted back to her papa who was kneeling in front of her. She remembered when she would be eye-level when he did this, but now she was able to see over his dark, slicked back hair. He looked seemingly worried as he continued, "Do you remember your training with Aki-san?"

She nodded her head, swallowing hard. Her eyes continued to dart between her papa and the boy. She didn't like where this conversation was going.

"What was that?"

"Yes, Papa."

"Good girl." Her papa gestured to the injured boy. "I need you to clean him up. I have a job for him this evening, and I need him ready. Can you do that for me, please?"

"Yes, Papa."

"Thank you, dear." He grabbed a stray piece of her red hair and tucked it behind her ear. "Do you remember how to get to the room you and Aki-san train in? The one just down this hall?"

"Yes, Papa."

"I want you to take the boy there while my friend and I talk for a moment. Okay?"

"Okay, Papa."

"Good girl," he repeated with a smile. "I'll come get you in a little bit."

"You hear that, boy? You better be ready," the man's voice bellowed through the office. He seemed to be the opposite of her papa, aggressive and mean where her papa was gentle and nice. Even so, Tomiko wasn't sure which of the three to be scared of most.

The boy finally looked at her for the first time and looked at startled as she did when she saw him. She ignored it though.

"Follow me, please," she told him. She only looked at him long enough to see him register her words before she turned away and walked out of the office.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

I just wanted to be clear from the start that there is a reason why I rated this an M from the very beginning. Heavy gore or steamy sex scenes will not be in explicit in this story, but there are intense, mature themes and the occasional strong language that forces me to choose the rating I did. Please keep that in mind. If you have any questions regarding this, shoot me a PM and I can let you be aware without spoiling too much. I'm being vague on purpose.

I will try to update this regularly. I have the first six chapters written and the next few outlined. It will probably be every other week so that I have that buffer. Some chapters will be short, less than 1000 words, due to just how the chapters are laid out, but I try to keep the word count above 1500.

I am not opposed to having a beta. These themes are a little new to me and I want to make sure everything makes sense and sounds realistic (given the universe).

Also, if I'm misinterpreting anything in my writing or something doesn't make sense, please let me know. I'm trying to improve my writing so I am open to _**constructive criticism**_. If you write "you suck," at least add why. That's all. Thanks! :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Broken Souls**  
 _A Naruto Story_

 **Summary:** After being saved from years in seclusion, Tomiko struggles to figure out who she truly is. Follow this young girl on her journey of self-discovery and redemption until she can finally look at herself in the mirror and say "I am not broken."  
 **Genre:** Drama, Family, Friendship, Slow Burn Romance  
 **Warnings:** Spoilers, Mental Illness, Strong Language, Adult Themes

* * *

Chapter 2

Since the very beginning, Tomiko was always spoiled with jewelry and clothes. She felt like those dolls she would see in the stores she sometimes walked passed; pretty to look at but can't do much else. Maybe that was why the girls that worked for her papa despised her so much.

 _"What makes you so special?"_ Tomiko recalled one girl snarling this question at her several years ago. _"Why did he choose you?"_

Tomiko failed to understand the questions back then. She assumed it was because she was almost never seen alone without her papa. He didn't allow her to play with others and Tomiko found it unfair. She did in the beginning at least, until more of the girls began their bullying as soon as her papa and the other adults were not paying attention.

So to say Tomiko was completely and utterly terrified of being alone with this strange boy who looked like just won a battle against the gods was an understatement.

Nevertheless, Tomiko guided the boy to a larger room just down the hall with a large, circular table in the middle. There was a desk to the side with a few stools and on the desk were some herbs and medical supplies. The redhead was too nervous to say any words so she gestured to one of the wooden stools. The boy understood the direction and sat down.

With shaky hands, Tomiko opened a medical kit and pulled out some disinfectant and clean rags. She turned to the boy who was looking at her with a hollowed expression and waited patiently for him to remove the dirty rag from his face. His face wasn't in too terrible shape, although the cut above his eyebrow was pretty deep, it scabbed over a bit which was good. She swallowed hard and took to cleaning his face first.

"Careful." The boy's voice was not as deep as Tomiko imagined, but his hand grabbed her wrist which caused her to withdraw quickly. His touch was gentle, but this entire interaction was unnerving to her. "You'll get blood on your kimono."

Tomiko nodded and found a ribbon to tie her sleeves back. Then she continued the cleaning. The boy's eyes followed her every movement as she cleaned off more of his face, his body never relaxing in the stool. Tomiko felt a little at ease that he was just as uncomfortable with the situation as she was, but that still didn't lessen her fear. When she got closer to his eye, he let out a painful hiss. Tomiko's eyes went wide and she jumped back again.

"I'm- I'm sorry!"

"It's okay." The boy made eye contact with her and for the first time looked determined. "You're here to help, right?"

She wasn't sure how she knew, but Tomiko understood the double meaning in the question and nodded her head again.

"Yes."

The boy let out a sigh and relaxed in his seat. With the blood and dirt cleaned off, he was younger than Tomiko thought originally, but he was still older than she.

"What's the diagnosis then, doc?"

"I-.." Tomiko's heart was pounding in her chest. Her papa always said stuttering was not a good trait have. It was ugly form of language that affected the way people viewed her natural beauty as a young lady. "A black eye…" She almost forgot the use of full sentences. "You have a black eye and a laceration above your left eyebrow."

Hesitantly, Tomiko raised a hand above the boy's affected eye. She focused her energy to her hand and green chakra emitted from her fingertips.

"There are no infections as well, but it will still take a few days to heal up completely."

The boy looked away and clenched his fists, "I don't have a few days."

Tomiko didn't know what to say to that so she stayed silent. Instead she continued to keep her focus on the injuries, not because she wanted to help the boy but because her papa told her to.

 **.: - :.**

"Looks like a spa to me." Kakashi rolled his eyes. Quite the observer Obito was. The building only had a sign that read "Hot Spring Spa" and was almost completely surrounded by steaming water. Obito was a genius.

The sun had set but that doesn't mean the job was done for the day. Team Minato arrived at the village right on time, though Kakashi knew they could have been there sooner and been more productive had Obito arrived on time that morning.

The village was larger than expected. A lot of market streets filled the villages main area with homes spread out amongst the outskirts. Surrounding the village was tall oak and pine trees, creating that vision of division and peace from the rest of the world. It was an ideal spot to have a spa, especially one with a natural hot spring.

Minato was currently doing his own reconnaissance, finding out any details on Bunta's whereabouts and how to be invited to the fight. That left Kakashi, Obito, and Rin to search around for the fighting venue. Through observing through the trees, the trio didn't find anything that stood out to them. The villagers seemed to migrate to the spa, but that wasn't out of the ordinary. What was strange was the amount of people entering the building but not coming out.

"Do you think the fight is happening below the spa?" Rin inquired thoughtfully. The idea wasn't bad, and it made some sense. Kakashi still had his skepticism.

"I don't think so. The arena would have to be pretty big. I can't see how that large of a space can handle being so close to the hot spring." The rock walls of the arena would have a hard time keeping the water out of the arena, not to mention the temperature the rocks would cause a constant heatwave in the enclosed area. Kakashi couldn't imagine the patrons being happy about that.

Kakashi crossed his arms and continued to study the spa. The hot spring completely surrounded the building except for the pathway to the main entrance. There was no bridge to cross to enter the building, and judging by how precise the pathway was compared to the rest of the spring made Kakashi believe it was a man-made dirt path. His eyes trailed down the path and then into the forest when the path ended. Grass was growing naturally, but no other large brush or foliage made it's mark on the narrow opening. Maybe Rin was on the right track.

"What's on the other side of this forest?"

"A cliff," Obito answered proudly. "I studied the geography when we arrived. Something you obviously didn't do, Kakashi."

Kakashi didn't bother responding and leaped to the tree limb deeper into the forest. The other two followed close behind. It wasn't long before the trio came to the end of the forest to reveal Obito was right. The cliff went straight down for several meters to a river bed at the bottom. In the distance up the current, Kakashi could hear the sounds of a waterfall, or was that…?

Rin pointed back down the cliff. A faint yellow light bounced off the rocks. Without another word, the silver-haired chuunin began his descent down the cliff, making his presence as unknown as possible by focusing chakra on his feet to walk down. The closer he got to the light, the louder the "waterfall" was. Sure enough, Kakashi arrived at a large, torch-lit opening. Dozens of drunk men surrounded an open ring, cheering as two young boys who had little to no fighting experience attacked each other into bloody messes.

Kakashi sensed the other two arrive and tense up at the scene they were witnessing. Obito went to move in, but Kakashi grabbed his jacket.

"We have to help them!"

"Not yet."

"They're going to die."

"And you want to join them?" Kakashi looked away from Obito's glare and panned across the room. "Jumping in now isn't going to save them. It's uncertain Bunta is even here tonight."

"But-"

"Tell me," Kakashi started, staring back at Obito, "do you see Bunta in there?"

Obito looked back into the cavern and gritted his teeth. The target wasn't found. Once Kakashi was happy with Obito's decision, he gazed at the patrons in the cavern.

"See any guards or any other point of entry?"

"No other points of entry," Obito grumbled. "Besides this one and the one in the corner."

"There are a few guards, but they have a decent amount of chakra," Rin whispered, her energy falling at the sight of one of the boys getting beaten to death. "Possibly jounin level."

"If they were jounin, we would have been caught by now," Kakashi commented. "I found six."

"Same."

"Let's go."

And the three flickered away.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**  
I meant to post this in the morning, sorry for the slight but still on time delay.  
I appreciate the review and follows/faves. Thanks everyone. :)  
I'll be back with the next chapter in two weeks. See you then!


	3. Chapter 3

**Broken Souls**  
 _A Naruto Story_

 **Summary:** After being saved from years in seclusion, Tomiko struggles to figure out who she truly is. Follow this young girl on her journey of self-discovery and redemption until she can finally look at herself in the mirror and say "I am not broken."  
 **Genre:** Drama, Family, Friendship, Slow Burn Romance  
 **Warnings:** Spoilers, Mental Illness, Strong Language, Adult themes

* * *

Chapter Three

Tomiko couldn't remember a time she was more hungry than she was at that moment. She kneeled quietly at the table and waited anxiously while the cook brought out the different dishes one at a time. Tomiko felt like she was being tortured from the sights and smells of breakfast, but she supposed it was her fault. She did sleep through dinner the night before.

After helping the boy, Tomiko was escorted to her bed and fell asleep instantly. She never felt so drained before, even during the many hours of training she endured with Aki-san. Just thinking about her old caretaker brought and uncomfortable stir in the pit of her stomach. Tomiko missed her. A lot.

There were a few ways to enter the rather large dining room. One rice-paper door let to the kitchen where the cook was running back and forth from. Another was the main entrance where she entered from. The third, the one Tomiko sat in front of, was one her papa specially used that led to one of the many rooms Tomiko was not allowed to enter. It was also the room she most feared to be invited to.

The new incoming smells of miso and fish forced Tomiko to accidentally take a deep breath and inhaled the delicious scent. Her stomach cried out painfully, loud enough for the cook to hear. His eyes darted over to her and smiled kindly. The cook was an older man with seemingly many years of chef experience. His food was always looked and tasted amazing. Tomiko had a hard time pronouncing his name as a child and to this day still called him Chef-san.

The cook scurried to the kitchen once more only to reappear shortly after with a couple cookies. Tomiko's eyes lit up at the sight as she gratefully accepted the offer. Chef-san gave her a not so subtle wink, causing the young girl to smile.

Then the sound of a door opening behind Tomiko startled her and Chef-san. Tomiko quickly hid the cookies in the folds of her robes while the cook gave a polite bow to the person who entered.

"Good morning, my dear," her papa greeted. He stepped over and placed a small kiss on top of her head. Tomiko stiffened at the contact and suddenly she lost her appetite. The uncomfortable stir she had before intensified to hard twists and stabs. Then her papa sat down next to her at the table. "I heard Sara-san had a hard time waking you up this morning. Did healing the boy take a lot of you?"

"A little bit," Tomiko admitted honestly. She healed up the boy enough where the cut was mostly gone and no longer needed stitches. Tomiko remembered how the boy reacted when she was finished because he fell quiet, angered to see a healthy enough body in the mirror. He only muttered a "thank you" as she was getting dragged away.

"Make sure you don't overdo it, all right? I don't want you hurting yourself." Her papa smiled before he began dishing some of the food onto Tomiko's plate. "You're special to me, and I don't want anything to happen to you."

"I'll be careful, Papa." Tomiko nodded.

"I know you will, sweetheart." He finished serving the food and said, "Thank you for the meal."

Tomiko repeated the words but her appetite never returned. Instead she began to pick at her food to fool her papa, trying not to give any reason for him to focus on her. Meanwhile, her papa talked about the weather. She listened to his words carefully. While her papa looked to the sky to predict the weather, Tomiko listened to the way he spoke to determine how the day was going to turn out for everyone else.

"It's too bad it's going to rain tonight." Tomiko's grip around her chopsticks tightened. He wasn't happy today, although he sounded pleased. Her papa stopped suddenly and Tomiko could feel his judgment through the heat of his stare. She pretended not to notice as she took a bite of fish. She knew what he was staring at, and she prayed he would just let it go.

"Sara didn't fix your hair today." Tomiko stilled at the statement. Her papa dropped honorifics and his voice turned blistering cold, although the volume was still low. Before she knew it, he hands were playing with her hair, becoming more and more distraught at the sight with each passing second. "Did she even _brush_ it?"

"I woke up late." Tomiko avoided the question. She placed her chopsticks down, staring sadly at the uneaten food. "It was my fault, Papa. I'm sorry."

Her papa sighed, "It's all right, sweetheart." He stood up. "Let's get it fixed now."

Tomiko nodded again. He guided her down the hall into her bedroom and had her sit at her vanity. He grabbed the soft brush from the stand and began brushing her red hair.

"It's been a long time since Papa brushed your hair," he commented. Tomiko watched him closely through the mirror. He was treating her hair as if it were glass, just one wrong move and it would shatter. "It's gotten so long."

Tomiko's vibrant hair reached down to her waist. Her caretaker, this week was Sara-san, usually but the entire length in an updo because it would always get in the way. A caretaker once cut Tomiko's hair because Tomiko complained about her head hurting. Her papa was furious when he found the cut strands in the trash. That was the most angry Tomiko ever saw her papa.

No. Tomiko saw him much more furious. Aki-san asked Tomiko to tell her papa she wasn't feeling well when Mother Nature decided to visit. That lasted three months before her papa found out the truth. He was quiet, but his jaw twitched at an alarmingly fast rate. He only told Aki-san to follow him and that was the last time she saw Aki-san.

"I'll have to ask Sara-san to keep your hair down today."

Her papa's eyes never left her hair when he spoke. Tomiko was almost unsure who he was talking to. His eyes suddenly lit up.

"You're birthday is coming up soon." Her papa played with the ends of her hair. "We should take a trip to celebrate. It's not every day my little girl turns twelve, and you can have all the sweets you want. How does that sound?"

Tomiko's eyes widened with anticipation, "All the sweets I want? Really?"

Her papa chuckled and put his hands on her shoulders, leaning over her to look at her through the mirror.

"Of course. Anything for my perfect little girl." He stopped. "I guess you're not a little girl anymore."

"Is Sara-san going?" Tomiko couldn't help but ask. "Or Aki-san?"

"No, dear. We can't rely on them. What happened this morning proves it." Her papa combed her hair carefully with his fingers. "Don't worry though, sweetheart. I'll always be here with you. I'll never leave you. It's just you and me. Do you understand?"

Tomiko nodded her head solemnly. "Yes, Papa."

* * *

 **Author's Note:  
** If it's not obvious yet what Tomiko is going through, let me know. I'm trying to be vague enough without outright saying what's going on. I think I might be too vague, but I want to create a sort of clouded, one-sided view that doesn't quite make sense in the beginning but if you read through it again, everything just falls into place.

Thanks for all the reviews and favorites, everyone. I really appreciate it.  
I apologize for the slow moving chapters though. I'll try to speed things along. It really starts to pick up next chapter. :)


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